Standing Rock Sioux Tribe confirms lack of easement for pipeline
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
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More on: bobbi jean three legs, dakota access pipeline, dave archambault, energy, missouri river, north dakota, standing rock sioux, usace, water
Materials used for construction on the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo by Camp of the Sacred Stones
Federal approval hasn't been granted for a crucial portion of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline amid fears that work on the controversial project might resume in North Dakota.
The Camp of the Sacred
Stones [Facebook |
Twitter | GoFundMe] was on edge on Monday night after word spread about the granting of an easement
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe addressed the concerns on Tuesday afternoon.
"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has confirmed that the easement for the Dakota Pipeline Project has NOT been issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers as of August 30, 2016," a statement on Facebook read.
Still, the tribe, whose leaders established the camp in April to resist the pipeline, is calling on Indian Country to take action. A decision by the Army Corps on the easement -- which would allow the Dakota Access partnership to begin work at Lake Oahe -- opens a 14-day window of notification to Congress.
"This is another chapter in the long history of the federal government granting
the construction of potentially hazardous projects near or through tribal lands,
waters, and cultural places without including the tribe," the tribe said on Tuesday.
The lack of an easement emerged as a significant issue last week when the tribe
asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to stop construction on the pipeline.
An attorney for the partnership appeared
to be surprised when the Army Corps said final approval had yet
to be granted.
Since the easement remains in limbo, Judge James E.
Boasberg said he didn't feel rushed to rule on the tribe's request for a preliminary
injunction. He promised a decision by the end of next week even as Dakota
Access pushed for a speedier answer.
"It's really urgent for us to get a decision here," William J. Leone, an
attorney for the pipeline partnership, told the judge at the August 24 hearing.
According to Leone, Dakota Access hopes to start transporting oil by
January 1, 2017. The 1,172-mile pipeline is projected to carry about 470,000
barrels a day but it has the capacity to carry even more along the route, which
starts in Montana before crossing into North Dakota.
The path comes within a half-mile of the Standing
Rock Sioux Reservation just north of Cannon Ball. The close proximity has
the tribe and its citizens worried about oil spilling into the Missouri
River, which has long played a role in the social and economic fabric of the community.
"When this pipeline breaks, it will only take five minutes for oil to get
into our water intake system," said Bobbi Jean Three Legs, a young tribal member
who organized the ReZpect Our
Water [Facebook | Instagram | Twitter] relay run
from North Dakota to the White
House, a 2,000-mile that ended earlier this month.
As the fight continues, the Camp of the Sacred Stones on Monday held
a demonstration outside the offices of a law firm whose attorneys are
representing the Dakota Access partnership. The firm is handling a different lawsuit that resulted in a temporary restraining order against
Chairman Dave Archambault II and other leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
The restraining order prevents Archambault, his colleagues and other
individuals from interfering with construction on the pipeline after they were
arrested on August 12 as part of a peaceful demonstration at the site. A hearing is
scheduled to take place 2:30pm on Thursday, September 8, in Courtroom 1 of
the federal
courthouse in Bismarck.
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